The present invention is concerned with the production of a synthetic, liver-like product as a pet food.
The pet food art has for a considerable period of time been desirous of providing a pet food having the taste and texture of natural animal liver at reasonable cost and having good feeding properties. Exemplary of past efforts to obtain such a product is the disclosure of Example III in U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,908 to Buck et al. According to that disclosure, a complex mixture of ingredients including about 28% pork liver, is heated and extruded. There is no indication in the reference, however, that a liver-like texture is obtained. Moreover, while reducing sugars and animal blood are disclosed as alternative ingredients of the composition, there was no appreciation that a liver-like flavor and texture could be obtained by employing these materials in the absence of the pork liver.
Other liver-flavored pet foods are presently being sold commercially, however, we are not aware of any pet food formulation which derives a liver flavor and texture through the use of blood, water, reducing sugars and fat.